


Vertically Challenged

by PixelPax



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Dysfunctional Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Slow To Update, The Author Regrets Everything, Uploading this again because I can't help myself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-03 21:43:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14005425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelPax/pseuds/PixelPax
Summary: When the Autobots and Decepticons are pulled through a tear in reality, they suddenly find themselves in an entirely different dimension, on a completely different planet, millions of miles from home. To make matters worse, their bodies didn't even make the trip- instead, their very sparks have been transferred and stranded in the mind of a young, human girl who has no idea just how complicated her life just became.Oh, and that's not even the bottom line.





	Vertically Challenged

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Okay, so I uploaded this story maybe about a year ago and then took it down again almost immediately- I can't remember why, exactly. It's been posted on Fanfiction too, but I've started to lean more towards AO3 now, so I think I'm just gonna post it on both because... why not.
> 
> Oh, and just in general, here's a fair warning to everybody who has decided to keep reading on: this is gonna be an absolute b**** to write and it will get seriously confusing (and a little repetitive) at times, so I'm really sorry for that! Nevertheless, I am determined to make this story as easy to understand and as enjoyable as possible, so please stick with me!
> 
> Now, just to warn you, I am literally AWFUL at updating so updates will be few and far between. Again, sorry!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Happy reading! :D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madeline Penn is afraid of quite a few things- needles, sharks, and all the usual mortal fears. But giant alien robots? Well, let's just say she never really thought to add it to the list.

* * *

**Verisimilitude**

[ver-uh-si-mil-i-tood]  
noun

__the appearance or semblance of being true or real_ _

* * *

**\--- EARTH, 2017---**

The classroom of 1-B was completely silent.

Silent, that is, except for the obnoxious ticking of the broken clock.

Madeline glared at it with childish contempt, brows furrowed as the second hand ticked back and forth, it's broken springs whirring and clicking sporadically. It was, quite frankly, infuriating and Mrs Grimway knew this all too well.

The older woman in question was perched at her desk, pen darting swiftly across the paper with practiced ease. Every now and again, she would glance up from her marking, her eyes- cold and cruel- glinting smugly through the dusted glass of her spectacles. Then she would scan the room, brows furrowed with age and constant displeasure, before finally settling on Maddie.

The girl quickly averted her eyes and waited for those steely orbs to wander away from her again. When they did, she glanced impatiently at her phone.

10 whole minutes left.

For a full twenty seconds, the teenager seriously considered bashing her head against her desk, if only to give herself something to do other than glare at the four walls. Instead, she only gave a small huff through her nose and went back to staring at the clock on the wall.

_Ti-Tick. Tick. Ti-Tick._

It might have only been ten minutes, but the wait was practically torturous. Mrs Grimway seemed to be in an even worse mood then normal, hissing whenever a chair so much as squeaked. It only made the tense seconds drag on. And then finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, it finally happened; the bell- even more loud and obnoxious than usual- rang out like an air raid siren, sending students rocketing out of their chairs in waves.

Rising from her seat, Mrs Grimway tutted loudly, already spouting some nonsense about summer homework and 'keeping out of trouble'. Maddie on the other hand had already stopped listening and she practically leapt over her desk in an effort to get to the door, ignoring the cry of surprise behind her as she nearly knocked Mrs Grimway off of her feet.

"Madeline Penn, you get back here!" The old woman squawked. Maddie only gave a nervous laugh as she ducked beneath her teacher's manicured nails. She was not exactly eager to get another detention.

"Sorry, I've gotta run!" She blurted, shrugging, "Have a good summer, ma'am!"  

And with a wave and a grin she was off, ducking into the corridor and diving down the hall. A smattering of relieved laughs, angered shouts and amused farewells followed her as she ran, Mrs Grimway's hunch-backed figure shuffling into the corridor to follow her. And then, in a glorious wave of sunlight, Maddie burst out of the school's front door and skipped out onto the lawn. 

The taste of freedom was just as sweet as she'd imagined.

The teen took a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air, smiling like a madman as she finally strolled out of the iron gates and into the warm summer sun. That phantom pain from being hunched over a desk all day still pulled at her muscles like an animal gnawing a bone, but she didn't care. Instead, she stopped to stretch her hands high above her head, gazing up at the blue, summer sky with blinding smile slipping across her face.

Free. She was finally _free_. 

No more Mrs Grimway, no more stupid detentions, no more pop quizzes or bad school lunches. After months upon months of endless studying, homework, essays, and exams, she was finally, _finally_ free. A summer of endless possibilities.

There was an ecstatic skip in her step as she made her way down the sun-baked street, the straps of her backpack tugging on her shoulders as her bronze-dusted ponytail swung back and forth. From her right hand dangled her phone and she hummed cheerfully to herself as she thumbed through her contacts.

The line rang a total of three times before someone answered.

_"Honestly, Madeline, what is it this time?"_

Maddie only smiled dizzily, tugging at her backpack straps as she swung around a street lamp.

"Hey, Maria," she chimed back, "Sorry for bothering you. It's just, well... it _is_ the last day of school and I was just wondering-" She couldn't hold back her grin at the woman's knowing snort, "-if you were busy right now."

She could practically hear the disapproval on her caretaker's face.

 _"Madeline.._ _._ "

Maddie grinned. "Maria _..._ "

The elderly spaniard hummed long and doubtfully, wry suspicion creeping into her tone. Fondly, though Maria couldn't see her, Maddie only rolled her eyes in response. No matter how irresolute the other woman tended to act, both knew that she'd always bend in the end. In most cases, Maddie had discovered, it was a waiting game- though that definitely didn't mean Maria was by any means a pushover.

Because really she wasn't. Most of the time anyway.

 _"Oh, alright,"_ Maria said finally.  _"Give me 10 minutes. I'll meet you by the park, sí?"_

Maddie's face broke out into a grin. "Yeah, okay, I'll see you then. Love you!"

For a moment, there was a short pause on the other side of the phone, almost as if Maria was trying to figure out whether Maddie was actually being serious or not. After a moment, she seemed to give in, releasing a mild chuckle and giving a weary  _"I love you too, chica"_ before hanging up.

Grinning to herself, Maddie cheerily made her way down the road, phone still swinging loosely in her grip. She really did love Maria. Housekeeper or not, the older woman had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember. In truth, she actually had more memories of her than she did of her Aunt Flo.

Ah, Flo. Thinking about her always tended to put just a little bit of a dampener of Madeline's mood. It wasn't that she didn't love her- because she really did. Flo was funny, kind, loving, and always ready for support if she needed it. The perfect aunt to have, really. So that wasn't the problem. Actually, the problem often lied with her occupation. Most of her life was spent working abroad, browsing through every international art gallery you could think of in search of opportunities to sell her work. Many times Maddie would go to sleep and wake up again, only to find out that her Aunt had slipped off in the night.

Still, it wasn't really her fault. Being an artist was difficult and it was a pretty shaky business, even at the best of times. And besides, as family relations went, a famous professional photographer wasn't exactly all that bad. Actually it tended to work to Maddie's advantage (living in a huge house, and even having a housekeeper, for instance). Most importantly though, the pay-off was always amazing and a happy Flo meant a happy Maddie. Well, that, and she always did appreciate the little gifts that her aunt bought for her when she went away; anything from exotic, African masks to strong-smelling spices from the trading markets of Timbuktu.

Yeah, when you put it like that, Maddie couldn't really hold it against her. She was mostly proud- even if she was maybe just _a little_ bitter about the whole thing. 

And actually, now that she thought about it, wasn't Flo supposed to be coming home tonight?

Maddie's steady footsteps stumbled to a stop as a sudden sense of apprehension grabbed at her.  Was she... missing something? It definitely felt like she was missing something, something really important that she just couldn't put her finger on. What was it that Maria had said? Something about Flo having decided to come home early because of a party or someth-

She bit back a horrified gasp. Oh no. _Oh no, no, no, no!_  She'd completely forgotten! How had she forgotten? 

Oh god, she was in trouble. Maria was going to- Oh, she didn't even want to think about what Maria would do. Maddie went very pale and glanced down at her phone. Okay, so she still had a few minutes left. That would be enough right? All she had to do was run in and buy a nice necklace or something, then a card, then wrapping paper, then... Oh, who was she kidding, she was never gonna get all that done!

Maddie huffed, looking up and down at the rows of open shop doors, completely at a loss at where to start. Well, she reasoned hurriedly, did it matter? She might as well try anyway, right?  Better to go down fighting than to give up before the battle had even begun. The next thing Maddie knew, she was across the street and peering into the nearest shop window. A collection of bracelets and rings lay abandoned in the velveteen display case and Maddie scanned them carefully. Too pricey, too dull, too big, too ordinary. She worried her bottom lip with her front teeth. 

Then one of the middle necklaces flashed oddly.

Maddie's brain screeched to a stop. For a moment she thought it was a trick of the light- just the reflection of the sun bouncing back into her eyes- but then she blinked and pressed her nose up against the glass.

The jewellery... It was _glowing_.  
  
Blue. A bright, bright blue- so clear that it made the summer sky look dirty- glimmered in the shallow depths of the many tiny jewels. Maddie watched with growing curiosity as the light flickered and danced in the glass, burning like a miniature star. Her first thought was that it looked strangely beautiful. Her second was that it was impossible, Jewellery definitely didn't glow, last time she checked.

And then, with all the subtlety of a baseball bat to the face, a bright wave of blue and white light smashed into her retinas.

Immediately, Maddie stuttered to a stop, hissing frantically as she blinked away coloured spots from her vision. It took a few moments for her sight to return to her and when it did she glowered at her mirror image in the glass. 

 _Okay,_ she thought dazedly, _t_ _hat actually hurt. A lot._

Eyebrows pinched as if in agreement, her reflection stared gormlessly back.

In the shop window, the polished jewellery still shimmered innocently and Maddie glared at it in confusion. The blue light was gone, the jewels oddly dark in its absence. It had vanished so fast that she hadn't even been able to register it. What even was it? Some kind of prank or something? Even the idea of glowing jewellery sounded like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. Definitely a prank then.

_Flash._

Maddie gave a squeak of surprise as another sudden flare lit up the nearby windows like a flash-bang. Instant waves of white came crashing down across her vision as she forced her eyelids to shut tight. The bracelets hadn't been glowing, she realised slowly, the light had been a reflection. 

When the blankness finally faded away, she whirled around to stare across the street but there was nothing there. No bright lights to be seen. No flashlights or rogue lasers or possible perpetrators. Only shop displays, dirty backstreets and the steady flow of people pouring down the road. She wet her lips, more befuddled then ever. What one Earth was going o-

_Flash._

She groaned again and pawed at her eyelids. Her head was starting to spin now, her backpack sagging heavily on her back as she fought to keep steady. What the _hell_ was going on? If this kept going on, she'd end up going blind from it all. Well, either that or unconscious, and neither option sounded ideal.

It must have been around then that she realised that something was wrong.

It was kinda like that moment when you're watching a horror movie and suddenly the ambient music drifts away into nothingness. The silence is unnatural. It is out of place, almost jarring, because you have grown so used to the music that you only notice it when it disappears. You are left with this heavy feeling of unease as the sudden silence grows louder, every sound amplified by tenfold as your ears strain to catch even the slightest noise.

It is this exact type of unease that caught Maddie now, her heartbeat pulsing dully in her ears.

A few shop windows away, the teenager could see a small boy whining and crying as he rubbed frantically at his eyes. His mother looked alarmed, patting him down with soft, inquisitive coos. She seemed concerned, only frowning in confusion as the child buried his head in his sticky hands.

"Mommy," Maddie heard him sob, "It _hurts!_ I can't see!"

Immediately, another flash split the sky. Maddie squeezed her eyes shut and waited for it to pass, head buzzing. From across the street, a baby shrieked and flailed in it's stroller. An older boy cursed and stumbled blindly across the pavement with his eyes clenched shut. A little girl buried her head in the neck of her father's jacket, whimpering as the little boy's screams grew ever louder.

Not a single other person reacted. There were no wary side glances from curious passer-by's, no annoyed glares from businessmen, or strangers stopping by to investigate. Nobody on the streets seemed bothered _at all_. Nobody recoiled, or grimaced, or flinched which was rather strange considering how Maddie had very nearly been blinded by it.

It was only the children. Only the other children could see it.

Then it happened again. And again. And again.

Bright, repetitive strikes of white lightning streaked across the bustling street and danced in the reflections of the windows, sending her reeling backwards with every flash. The shrieking of the nearby youngsters rang in her ears and she cupped her hands over them, squinting through the light. It was coming from the blackness of an empty alleyway across the road; bright, eerie and almost ghost-like in the shadows.

As if on cue, another wave of light whipped across her vision and Maddie couldn't help the whine she gave as it hit, her body trembling. As she waited for the sparks to fade from view, she darted quickly across the road, ignoring the beeps and shouts that chased her. She had just about hit the other side when an eighth flash tore through her and she keened, nearly falling over entirely.

Then, head throbbing, she very carefully peered into the dark mouth of the side street.

The alley _looked_ normal enough. Dirty trash bags were piled up in a grimy dump, rubbish and empty bottles strewn across the floor and decorating the ground with glittering, broken glass. A mangey cat lay across the tarmac, watching her with a menacing hiss scraping past it's jagged fangs. A cloud of flies buzzed contently over the junk pile and Maddie winced. Yeah, definitely an ordinary city street by the looks of things.

But then... what was this feeling?

Something heavy crawled up her back and churned in her stomach, sending a hundred goosebumps popping up all over her skin at once. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as if she'd just been electrocuted, her whole body shivering. It was like that feeling you got when you were on a rollercoaster just before it transcended the top of the rails and started its lightning descent down to Earth.

"Hello?"

No reply.

Maddie cringed but forced herself to keep walking, stepping past the trash bags, the crushed cans, the take-away boxes, the broken bottles. Past the yowling feline and the dusty cobwebs that dangled above like silver-sprinkled fairy lights. Then, ever so slowly, she stepped her way around the corner.

She froze instantly. Terror and numb disbelief coursed through her, rooting her to where she stood. Suddenly,she couldn't move, paralysed by the sight of that indescribable _thing_ only a few feet away. for a moment, she felt as if she couldn't breathe.

In the centre of the dim, dirty alleyway, surrounded by trash and rats and disease, was a bright blue ball of electricity. It hovered there- something straight out of science fiction- trembling and shivering as tiny arcs of electricity zapped through the air around it, like one of those electric plasma balls that sparked when you touched it.

Maddie couldn't move. Completely petrified by her own awe, she stared at the thing; so completely unnatural, so strangely beautiful, so entirely _alien_ , that she felt her breathe seize in her throat.

She almost couldn't help herself. As if some invisible force had seized her body, Maddie took a sharp, shuddering breath and stepped forwards into the light. Unthinkingly her hand reached out to touch the orb, shivering as it passed through the static-charged air towards that unearthly blue glow-

What happened next, was so fast and so sudden that she didn't even get the chance to scream.

As if reacting to her presence, the electric orb began to pulse and writhe in place. She could feel an invisible wind pushing her back, cutting her skin as her hair whipped her face. The light blazed blindingly bright. The crackle of power that echoed through the empty alley sent wild panic surging in her chest. Her vision seemed to flood with blue; an endless ultramarine. Gunshots, explosions, the ringing of metal clashing on metal. She could hear something- voices, maybe? But they were so  electronic. They were screaming; a grating, mechanised sound that sent shivers racing up her spine. The blue hit her again like a wave.

She couldn't help herself. She screamed.

And then the blue vanished. Inky, endless black seeped across her vision like a curtain. She could feel her eyes slowly drift to a close. For a mere moment it was almost peaceful. 

And then the pain hit.

Her body was being hacked into a hundred different pieces; forced apart and pounded together all at once. Her mind felt like it was exploding, her very thoughts- her very _soul_ \- being ripped apart as something clawed it's way jaggedly through her mind. She was going to die, she realised. She was going to die here in a dirty alleyway on the first day of the holidays, torn apart by a big alien ball of electricity. She didn't want to die.

Then- like the world had heard her screaming- everything turned eerily silent. And she was gone.

* * *

 

Her eyes flew open.

Maddie shot up like a rocket, eyes wide and heart racing as her body shook and shuddered. Half-formed flashes of blue and white light streaked across the back of her vision and she hastily blinked them away, mind buzzing with white noise. Her head was throbbing.

God, what the hell had just happened? She... She wasn't dead? But the ball and the light and the _pain..._  It had hurt so much. Just... Just what had happened to her?

It took a few moments for her to regain her senses and, when she did, she couldn't stop her jaw from dropping open in mute horror.

Gone was the grimy alley and the weird, pulsing light. Gone was the bustling city with it's gum-stained pavements and towering buildings. Gone were the shops filled with colour and noise, gone were the people and the cars with their constant, overhanging hum. Now she was sat, cold and alone in the middle of a huge clearing of nothingness, surrounded by wide mesmerising clouds of mist that twirled and twisted in hypnotic patterns.

White. Everything was white here; the ground, the mist, and even the sky.

Her head swung back and forth like a pendulum, eyes wide and unseeing as she desperately searched for some kind of recognisable landmark. But all she could see was the white; an impenetrable, murky fog that seemed to press in all around her. After a couple of moments spent in dizzying confusion, she scrambled to her feet, wrapping her arms around herself in a tight embrace. She noticed the absence of weight on her back and felt her stomach drop- her backpack was missing. She rifled quickly through the pockets of her hoodie. No phone, either.

Her breathing stuttered to a stop. 

So if she wasn't going crazy (which was entirely possible), then she was completely on her own in a place she didn't recognise with no idea of how she'd gotten there in the first place. She had no phone, no backpack, no knowledge of what had happened to her and, even worse (if that was possible), no idea of how to get back.

Okay, so mostly-invisible alien lights, sudden voices in her head and potential kidnapping? This day had taken a very dramatic, very unwanted turn.

Maddie felt her nails dig into her arms through the fabric of her hoodie and forced the sudden lump in her throat back down. In short, she was in trouble. She'd seen enough movies to figure out where this was going and she didn't like it in the least.

Steeling herself, she swallowed dryly, peering through the mist for some kind of sign- of something, _anything-_ but all she could see was the fog. She took a step forward and cleared her throat.

"H-Hello...?" It echoed through the emptiness, trembling once through the air before vanishing into the mist like a whisper.

No reply.

Maddie, hesitant but unsurprised, began to make her way forwards, glancing around herself warily as she proceeded into the mist. The sound of her own feet was her only companion in the eery silence. The clearing seemed endless and her voice only ever come back alone, no matter how loud or how far she shouted.

Eventually her fear grew to sheer desperation and she split into a wild, frenzied sprint, running this way and that in some hope of finding _something_ in this barren, desolate hell that she'd awoken in. It was only after her feet began to grow numb and her lungs began to scorch her chest that she finally stumbled to a stop, hysterical tears biting at the corners of her eyes as she fought away the hurriedly-approaching panic attack.

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. No sound, no light, no shadows, no people- just nothingness. This place was just mist; a nightmare in which she was hopelessly stranded, able to do nothing but wander helplessly in circles for hours. What was she supposed to do? What if she couldn't find the way back? What if she couldn't get home? What if she ended up being stuck here forever?

Maddie wasn't afraid to admit it- she was stuck. She was stuck and alone and scared and she just didn't know what to do. She didn't care about the weird, alien light anymore. She didn't care about how she'd gotten there in the first place and she cared even less about _why_ she was there. She didn't care about her detention and didn't care whether Maria picked her up or not.

_She just wanted to go home._

Numb with exhaustion and fear, Maddie fell to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her legs and forcing herself to breathe softly. Oh, this was so stupid, she thought bitterly. She should have waited to be dismissed properly, should have just waited for Maria to arrive. She should have just ignored the light, should have just gone home to see Aunt Flo.

Fat tears tracked down her cheeks and the young girl laughed hollowly as she rubbed them away. 

"I don't even know why I'm doing this..." she whispered desperately, her voice trembling, "B-But, please, if there's someone out there who can hear me- God, or Allah, or _anyone_. Please, just someone help me. Please." She knew that she was being stupid and childish. She knew that there wasn't even anyone around to hear her but, in that moment, anything would have been possible.

It was a good thing too because someone- fate, or the gods, or maybe even something more- must have heard her plea.

It was gradual at first, like the buzzing of an angered wasp; a low-pitched hum that grew progressively louder and more incensed with every passing moment. It took some time for her to recognise it, as dizzy and as muddled as she was but when her brain had caught up with the rest of her, she felt her heart jump.

 _Voices._ She could hear _voices._

Instantly, Maddie's head jerked upwards, red-rimmed eyes flickering frantically back and forth as she strained to see through the mist. No matter where she looked, there was nothing but an endless sea of white shadows and fog.

Well, it wasn't as if she had any choice.

She scrambled to her feet and started forwards into the unknown. With every step she took, the voices seemed to get closer.

She couldn't make out the words but they seemed just about as confused and freaked out as she was and that, at least, was a comfort. But then she paused, suddenly hesitant as they grew ever clearer. There was something off about this, she could hear it in the way they sounded. The words seemed to be spat with such a furious hatred that she felt herself freeze, an icy shiver running down her spine.

For a second, Maddie felt that maybe this wasn't the best idea. Then she realised that she didn't have a choice. With no visible alternative, she dug her nails into her palms and forced herself to press onwards. The voices grew louder.

"-all their fault, Optimus! If it hadn't been for those _Decepti-freaks_ then-"

"Oh, will you stop _whining_ , already! We had nothing to do with this, _Auto-scum_!"

"Oh, shut it, 'Screamer. Why don't you get back to kissing Megatron's fat, shiny aft?"

"How _dare_ you-"

"Starscream, you infernal fool! Stop your screeching this instant! It's grating on my audio receptors!"

"But Lord Megatron-"

"I said _enough!_ "

As Maddie drew ever closer, she found that she _could_ see something through the impenetrable white mist: shapes. Giant, hulking shadows that seemed to be gesturing and pacing frantically- and when Maddie said 'giant', she truly meant it. Not 7 feet, or even 8, but what looked to be at least _20 feet tall_ giants... Monsters.

Maddie felt some nameless emotion rush through her.

"Autobots, stand down," said one of the voices.

"But Optimus, we can't just-"

"Ironhide, that is an order. _Stand down._ "

Maddie jolted, both at the authoritative growl and at the reluctant, mechanical grunt that echoed after it.  The shadows were so close now and they sounded more intimidating than ever; loud, sharp and hostile. Strangely, they also sounded kind of... mechanical. Almost like they'd been synthesised through a cheap voice modifier. In fact, they were eerily similar to the voices she'd heard in her head.

She stopped, dread clenching in her stomach. 

They _were_ the voices from before. Autobots, and 'decepti-freaks', and so many other words that she'd never heard of before. Who were these people? _What_  were these people? The sensible part of her mind screamed at her furiously. _'Run!'_ it said, _'Run now before you lose your chance!'_ She wished she could have listened to it.

Instead of turning tail like she probably should have done, she kept going, arms still wrapped around her waist- though now more for protection than comfort. The monsters grew steadily clearer, colours merging with the fog like some kind of abstract art.

And then something large and heavy struck the ground next to her.

Achingly slow and filled with inexplicable dread, Maddie lifted her head.

It was almost like something out of a horror movie. Maddie found herself suddenly plunged into darkness, a cold shiver racing over her skin as something large and slow shuffled into view. The creature groaned above her, it's heavy footprints trembling across the ground and sending the hairs on her arm rocketing up.

In all honestly, there weren't really enough words in her vocabulary for her to describe all the emotions that rolled through her at that moment. Shock, horror, confusion, excitement and sickening fear coiled in her stomach, threatening to rip her chest in two as a helpless scream tried to tear itself from her throat.

She was staring up at a robot. Huge, dark and intimidating beyond belief, the enormous figure loomed high above her, casting her in the darkness of it's over-sized shadow. Gears and wires glinted in the strange light of the clearing, shining between the cracks in it's bruised and dented metal armour- a striking combination of crimson, silver, and dark cobalt blue.

It looked like a mechanical man- heavy-set legs, a grill-covered chest, thick-plated arms and broad, angular shoulders. She could see flashing electrical panels lining it's chest, alien-looking symbols printed neatly across the many ridges and intrinsic metal pieces that made up the strange being. On it's head was a helmet; dark blue with two sharp, ear-like protrudes spiking from either side. Strangely, the most human-like feature of the mechanical creature was definitely it's face; defined metal cheeks with large, almost exaggerated eye ridges for eyebrows, a small square of metal that seemed to substitute a nose, and two, blue headlights that shone directly in the centre of it's face. The place where it's mouth may have been was hidden away by the shiny plating of a metal mask, but Maddie could still the concerned creases in it's expression.

Maddie had never seen robot _frown_ before.

Luckily for her, the huge mechanoid hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet, and was looking at something she couldn't see. It seemed conflicted, she noticed- or about as conflicted as a robot could be- and was watching the other shapeless shadows in weary thought.

From just beyond came a voice, gruff and moody, "Optimus, please don't tell me that you're seriously considering this." Maddie jumped as the red and blue machine gave a resigned, automated sigh and raised it's hands to rub at the bridge of it's 'nose'.

"No, Ratchet," the giant rumbled wearily, "I am not considering anything at this moment." It shook it's head almost exasperatedly and then lifted it's gaze. "For now, I believe it would be best if we just remained calm. We must all work together if we are to find a way out of this place."

From behind the towering figure of the robot, she heard a cacophonous chorus of groans and snarls ring out in united disagreement.

"Prime, if you seriously believe that I'm going to work with a bunch of filthy Autobots, then you're more insane then I thought." Maddie almost squeaked. It was one of the voices from before but it was a lot closer now and a lot more unpleasant; a high-pitched squawk that grated violently on the ears.

"You know, as much as I hate to say it, Optimus, 'Screamer's got a point."

Maddie felt her breath coming quick and fast, heart pounding frantically in her chest as finally- _finally-_ the giant, hulking figures materialised from the mist. She fought the sudden, inescapable urge to faint dead away, frozen in place as she stared.

Giant talking robots. Giant talking robots that looked as if they could snap her in two with a flick of the wrist. Giant talking robots which could very easily kill her, with _really_ big guns. And one of them was looking _straight at her_.

Maddie took a long, shuddering breath.

Bright, electric-blue bored into gold-speckled hazel, cold metal features morphing into transfixed befuddlement that was no doubt mirrored in her own expression. The giant in question was stood a little further out from the rest of the group, electric gaze trained on her like a hawk on it's prey.

This robot looked different from the one from before. It was definitely a lot smaller, for one thing. For another, this one had two brightly glowing panels sticking out from either side of its head. They shone with a bright, curious yellow light, although just moments before she had sworn that they had been pink. Mood panels, she noted, numbly.

Maddie didn't even get a chance to react before, with a quick swipe of it's hand, the giant bent down and scooped her into it's palm. She swallowed back a startled scream of protest as huge metal fingers wrapped round her body and pinned her gently place.

"Fascinating..." She heard the robot murmur. "A bipedal organic. But where on Cybertron did it come from?"

There was something in the lights of its eyes that unsettled her; it was as if it were looking at a particularly interesting puzzle or even worse, an experiment. Maddie didn't really feel like becoming a lab rat to anybody, least of all an alien robot. Instead, what she would really prefer was if the strange metal being could put her down. At the very least, she thought, somewhat hysterical, he should give her the _chance_ to escape.

Maddie opened her mouth to tell the giant exactly this but found that she couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. It was as if all the air had been seized from her lungs all at once, her tongue flapping helplessly as her voice stalled in her throat.

"U-Um, ex- excu-"

"Wheeljack! What in the _Pit_ are you doing?!"

Immediately, both the automaton and the human snapped to attention.

Now Maddie couldn't exactly say that she was a robotics expert, but even she could tell when a robot was in a pretty bad mood. This one looked particularly murderous. It had a smooth metal mouth that was turned down in a way that couldn't be described as anything other than 'grumpy' and the now pink-finned robot beneath her seemed to shrink under the newcomer's glare. Maddie couldn't help but cower with it.

The new mechanoid growled, "Please, for the love of Primus, at least tell me you've come up with something to get us out of here." 

Maddie's robot let out a throaty, electrical noise that sounded oddly like it was clearing it's throat. "Ah, well, yes... About that..."

The newcomer's electric eyes narrowed as it surveyed the other's nervous shuffling. That piercing, blue gaze seemed to search for some sort of sign before darting down just for a second- just long enough to see her head poking out from beneath the other robot's slender fingers. For a second, she was struck by the sudden hope that the new robot wouldn't see her. That idea was dashed almost instantly when it's fiery gaze latched onto her like a starving hawk.

It was as if she could see the robot's mind come to a complete stop. She couldn't blame it. 

It sputtered almost comically when it saw her, eyes blown wide as it stared at her where she clung to the sharp metal joints of it's pink-finned companion. For a long second of dumbstruck silence, Maddie and her hand-bot watched as the other robot's eyes flickered back and forth as it seemed to process the scene before it. Then- so quick that she almost missed it- Maddie watched the shock morph into fury.

"Is that an _organic_?" The robot hissed, " _Here_?!"

Maddie's current prison warden blanched but didn't say anything. the new robot's eyes only narrowed. It was a look that Maddie had seen many times and one that looked infinitely more terrifying on a 20-foot robot than it did on little, 5"4' Maria Morello.

" _Wheeljack..._ " Oh, it was definitely growling now. "Please don't tell me that you've just kidnapped a random native."

The robot named Wheeljack shifted uneasily on the spot, so nervous-looking that Maddie was suddenly reminded of a young boy who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It was almost comical, although it probably would have been a lot funnier if Maddie hadn't been the metaphorical 'cookie'.

"Well," he began, slowly, "I mean, it wasn't really _kidnapping..._ "

The other robot gave an exasperated growl as, without much preamble, he swatted her fidgeting 'kidnapper' over the head with his hand. Immediately, Wheeljack gave a defensive yelp and reeled backwards- both from surprise and from the impact. He sent his attacker a quick glare, plates flashing a vibrant orange.

"Ratchet!" He whined. "What was that for?"

Ratchet gave another irritated snarl, though an expression of sadistic satisfaction had somehow worked it's way into his frown.

"For being a mindless bucket of bolts," he shot back, "I thought you'd already learnt not to pick up random organics, or need I remind you of the incident on Quadra 14?" As he spoke, Ratchet crossed his bulky arms over his red-and-white chest plates and levelled Wheeljack with a stern glower. 

 _(Ratchet and Wheeljack,_ Maddie pondered with almost hysterical amusement. _What weird names.)_

Wheeljack winced, and then brought out his arms in a helpless _'what can you do?'_ sort of gesture, fins glowing a sheepish magenta. "Well, yes," he started slowly, and Maddie could see the way his wires trembled as Ratchet's glare turned to a scowl, "but Quadra 14 wasn't my fault _exactly_ -"

"You were almost torn apart, you primus-forsaken scrapheap!"

"-but it was't me who insulted the Quadrians. Sideswipe was the one who _-_ "

"It could have been _Optimus_ for all I'd care! You were still the one who ended up in my medbay with most of your limbs unattached and only _half an aft!"_

"But it wasn't my fault that my acid grenade went off! Ironhide was _shooting_ at me!"

Maddie could practically see the alien spittle flying from Ratchet's mouth at this point, his metal teeth gritted together in a fierce snarl. Wheeljack, on the other hand, looked a lot less aggressive and a lot more panicked, his arms and hands gesturing wildly. Unfortunately for Maddie, this also meant a reasonable amount of rapid jolting as she was tossed from side to side like a rag-doll, still enclosed between the robot's fingers.

Miraculously she didn't feel sick, only slightly dizzy as her head rocked back and forth on her shoulders. Honestly, Maddie couldn't help but be somewhat more annoyed than anything at the careless way she was being thrown around. Plus that, coupled with the fact that she could be dropped to her death at any given moment really didn't help to make her feel any better.

"U-Um, e-e-excuse me?"

Much to her disappointment (and deep relief), the two didn't seem hear her, too embroiled in their own argument to notice the tiny creature trying to garner their attention. Her heart still jumping violently in her mouth, Maddie abandoned the arguing pair and tried her best to peek through the seams of the fingers that were holding her tight.

The other robots were still there, looking even more intimidating now that she was close up. Some were dark and angular, with wings and spikes and swords and menacing expressions that looked like they belonged on a wanted poster. On the other hand, some were bright and colourful, with rounded edges and sparkling paint jobs and warm blue eyes that screamed of comfort and safety. (Although why a giant robot would ever be considered 'safe', she had no idea.)

The two groups seemed to be separated by an invisible barrier and glared at each other from across the empty gap that ran between them. Bulky, metal objects that looked suspiciously like alien guns were raised in defence and their faces were twisted with anger and doubt. At the centre of the nearest group (the one that Maddie was apparently stuck with) stood the huge red and blue robot from before, weary but still standing tall with that same quiet, authoritative dignity.

Directly across the gap stood another robot; equally as huge and clearly a fellow leader, but almost opposite in every way. He (she assumed) sported dull silver paint marred by deep scratches and dents, two vermilion orbs that gleamed sinisterly above a shark-toothed snarl, and a face-like purple logo that shone proudly from the centre of his expansive chest. Or, to sum him up in a few words: dark, dangerous and very evil-looking.

To Maddie- tiny, delicate, and oh-so-very _human_ \- it was like watching two great forces stand off against each other. Like a fantasy from some far off other world or some other universe. And it was beyond terrifying.

She looked up. The two robots above her were growing louder with every moment, completely oblivious to the growing tension between the two sides. They were starting to draw a few too many stares, Maddie noted apprehensively, and that was definitely not something she was comfortable with right now.

"But Ratchet, it's tiny! It's not like it can hurt me!"

"Hurt you, my aft. You're enough of a danger to yourself!" The bot snarled ferociously, engines roaring, "I swear to Primus, Wheeljack, if it turns out that it was _your_ invention that landed us here, so help me I'll reformat you into a cleaning drone."

A chorus of hostile, irritated growls interrupted his spiel as if in agreement as all eyes turned to the sheepish-looking scientist. At first, Maddie couldn't decide whether it was the noise or the comment that riled them up, then she noticed the way that they were looking at him and quickly realised that it was the latter. Apparently, the smaller bot had a reputation. And she wasn't quite sure that that was a good thing.

Wheeljack gave a nervous chuckle as his unoccupied hand rose up to rub self-consciously at the back of his neck. Still hidden behind his fingers, Maddie rocked unsteadily in his grip.

"Well, it's not like I keep track of these things."

"Wheeljack."

It wasn't a question or even a command, but the robot in question cringed under the stern gaze of his leader. (Well, Maddie assumed that the red and blue robot was the leader. She didn't even know anymore. As far as she was concerned, all of this was just some weird hallucination or something. Or at least that was what she hoped, because if she wasn't hallucinating and she wasn't dreaming, she was definitely going insane.)

Wheeljack grimaced.

"You know, contrary to what _some bots_ believe," he gave Ratchet a hurt look, "I'm not always responsible when things go horribly wrong. No, I didn't have anything to do with any of this." He stopped for a second to think. "At least, I don't think so."

There was a snort from Maddie's right and she couldn't help but lean a little further out from her hiding place. A lithe, red-plated robot was leant up against an almost identical yellow robot, smirking skeptically as he played with the hilt of his sword. Behind Wheeljack's fingers, Maddie gulped silently and ducked further behind cover the second she caught a glint of the strange, alien-looking blade.

"You don't sound too convinced, 'Jackie." The red robot grinned, though a bare hint of annoyance coloured his voice. "You sure you didn't do anything?"

Maddie heard Ratchet scoff. "Of course he did something. He's _Wheeljack."_

"Ratchet, Sideswipe, that's enough." The leader- what was his name again?- gave an impatient, mechanical sigh. "Wheeljack, is there any chance that you know what happened?" He sounded tired, almost drained. Given any other situation, Maddie probably would have felt sorry for the guy.

Wheeljack, also sympathetic, could only shake his head. "Sorry, Optimus," he replied grimly, "I genuinely don't have any idea." He winced meekly and his eye-lights dimmed in dismay, "I think my memory banks were damaged in that explosion. I can't access any of my systems, not even subspace."

A dull hum rose up from the crowd as they started to mutter between themselves.

The group of robots nearest to Maddie seemed more relaxed though evidently troubled, frowns and distress echoed on their features. Most were murmuring to themselves and each other, throwing wary glances across the invisible gap to the other group who glared right back. Some were far louder in voicing their opinions (for instance, the agitated medic above her who was huffing and growling to himself) but most seemed relatively unconcerned. Then again, judging by the way they were looking at Wheeljack, Maddie could hazard a guess that maybe this sort of thing wasn't so uncommon an occurrence for them.

The other group, on the other hand... Maddie looked over and visibly flinched. The large, grey leader- Megatron- looked furious. His metal teeth ground together in a threatening symphony as he glared daggers at the robot called Optimus. To Maddie, it looked very much like he was contemplating whether or not to rip the red-and-blue armoured bot apart with his bare hands.

For some reason, he seemed very unmindful of the fact that, directly to his left, the robot from before ('Starscream', if she remembered correctly) was hissing at him, spiky wings hiked with infuriated anger. Maddie watched with wide eyes as something that the smaller robot said seemed to trigger Megatron's anger and the bigger robot snarled, the sound rattling in his chest. There was an unmistakable growl in his tone as he turned on the skinnier robot, claws flexing with dangerous intent.

Maddie couldn't quite hear what was being said said exactly but could still feel the hostile snarl in his voice even from across the clearing- not unlike a tiger released from it's cage. Immediately, she saw Starscream simper, though his face was still down-turned in an mocking sneer as he graciously bowed to his leader. _His_ grating tone was very clearly audible, even over the dull chatter of the surrounding robots.

"My apologies, master. I was simply suggesting that perhaps you- our _renowned_ and _undoubtedly impressive_ leader- are getting complacent in your old age."

Megatron at this point seriously looked like he wanted to snap the smaller mechanoid in half. Maddie couldn't say that she blamed him. She half expected him to just snap right then and there but was almost disappointed when instead he turned back to his previous target- Optimus, who stared impassively back. Though the others didn't seem to notice, there was a notable tension between the two that Maddie shivered at. Then the surface beneath her shifted and Maddie was abruptly shaken from her thoughts. 

Wheeljack was peering down at her again, blue eye-lights wide and curious as he examined her. Incredulously, he seemed utterly unaware of the rising pressure in the air. Instead, his sole focus remained on Madeline and the way she trembled in his palm. 

Honestly she wasn't entirely sure that he knew that she could understand him. By the way he was looking at her, he probably thought of her as some kind of pet or something. An animal, maybe. And speaking of which, what exactly was she supposed to do in this situation? Say hello? Introduce herself? Run away screaming? She'd never really had to practice a 'captured by an alien / possible hallucination' drill and now she was sorely feeling that gap in her knowledge.

After a long moment of stalemate staring, Maddie finally decided to break the eye-contact. okay then. Step 1: Start with basic, universal communication. Gulping, she did the only thing she could bring herself to do and waved shyly.

The robot's aqua eyes sputtered off an on for a moment- almost like he was blinking at her- and then, curiosity written plainly across his expression, he returned the motion. Maddie stopped and then felt the small hint of a watery smile spread across her face as something like relief fluttered in her chest.

"-eeljack, are you even listening?"

Wheeljack didn't look up but instead stared intensely at her, almost as if he was trying to solve an equation. Maddie felt a little relieved- it wasn't a dangerous look like the one from before. In fact, he looked almost in awe.

Ratchet, suddenly quiet, peeked over Wheeljack's shoulders in order to squint at her in silent speculation. Taken off guard, she flinched at the extra attention but then, with Wheeljack's weighty gaze egging her on, raised her hand very reluctantly and waved again. Ratchet frowned but didn't react though he certainly looked more interested than before. Wheeljack waved back at her again, looking oddly cheerful.

Ratchet's navy eye-lights narrowed at the exchange. "Why is it doing that?"

Wheeljack hummed thoughtfully and lifted his other hand to gently poke at the human with one of his giant fingers. Maddie hadn't expected it and gave a slight yelp as she toppled over, grasping the appendage with both hands affrontedly.

"I think it's a greeting," he mused. He gave his finger a shake and watched with amusement as Maddie was jolted up and down. She heard Ratchet snort again- something he seemed to do often.

"A greeting? Really?" He sounded doubtful, but even Maddie could see the way his eye-lights glinted curiously. "You think it's actually sentient?"

Wheeljack hummed again and tilted his head as though to speak but then stopped and stared at her expectantly, almost like he was waiting for something. Maddie stared back blankly. What did he want? Then her eyes widened.

 _Oh_. Maddie opened her mouth to speak, but found that her tongue refused to move. The eyes of her mechanic warden seemed to stare straight through her, a little darker than before and teeming with a thousand thoughts that flashed by so quickly she could barely catch them. For someone so curious and youthful, his eyes seemed unusually old.

"-sentient organisms aren't exactly common, and they are certainly not something that we would find in a place like this."

In the background, she could still hear the loud, distressed chattering of the other robots. Ratchet's innate yammering went completely over her head as the two species- robot and human- simply stared at each other.

Maddie closed her eyes, took a deep breath in, then out. In. Out. She opened her eyes again to see the mechanical giants scrutinising her confusedly and maybe a little bit concerned. The light in Wheeljack's eyes seemed to have returned.

"Is it's ventilation system's damaged?" She heard Ratchet mutter slowly.

Wheeljack frowned, "I don't think so."

Maddie tried her best to ignore them and focused on getting the words out of her mouth. It wasn't easy; her lips were dry and chapped, her tongue frozen to her teeth, and her sudden anxiety kept pushing the words back down her throat. It was weird, she thought disgruntledly, she'd never been this freaked out about something before. Finally though, it happened: she felt something shift in her chest as she finally opened her mouth to speak-

"A temporal shift."

Once again, she'd been interrupted. Yet again, she felt too relieved to care.

There was a sudden lull in conversation as everyone, including Wheeljack and Ratchet, turned. Maddie shivered involuntarily when she caught sight of the speaker. He was huge and hulking, with a large bulky gun for one arm, and a single all-seeing, amber eye. The expression on his face seemed empty, more viciously calculating than anything. It was the exact definition of a cyclops-robot if ever she saw one and was _definitely_ not someone she'd want to run into when alone in a dark alley.

"Shockwave..." What was clearly meant to be a growl came off as more of an angry squawk than anything else, and Maddie immediately recognised it as the raspy voice from earlier. "Did you do this?"

The one-eyed robot tilted his head to the side in the shadow of a subtle threat and shifted his gaze. Maddie followed his eye-line to see a thin yet supple body, venomous triangular eyes that glowed a deep scarlet, a pair of pointed wings, and a barbed sneer.

"I had no part in this, Starscream," the cyclops rebuked calmly, "I am only stating an observation."

Starscream only snorted, wings hiking in irritation, "Clearly."

Shockwave didn't bother to grace the other with a reply and instead turned away, head bowed in respect. "Lord Megatron," he began, "I believe that our current predicament was caused by a combination of both a temporal shift and a Space Warp."

Megatron gave an irritated growl as he loomed over Shockwave, unimpressed. It looked like he'd just about reached the end of his fuse. "I don't particularly care how we got here," his voice started off slow and steady but grew with every passing moment till it was practically a roar, "I just want someone to _fix it!_ "

Shockwave didn't seem at all affected by the sudden hostility directed at him, and instead bowed his head further.

"As you wish, my lord."

The tense moment was interrupted when Maddie heard a strangled sound come from above her. Once again, the many eyes in the clearing were drawn back to Wheeljack who looked almost like he was about to faint. The scientist appeared troubled, flashing fins paling to a soft baby pink as his free hand came up to cover his open mouth.

"But that's almost unthinkable-" He stopped himself, "I mean, technically it would be possible but even _I've_ never meddled with that kind of science. It's all just theoretical. I mean, its not as if anyone's actually been able to prove it. And even if Shockwave is right, then that would mean that we somehow ripped a literal hole in reality. If that was the case then we definitely shouldn't have survived being pulled through it. When you add all that together and factor in everything that could go wrong... I mean, the chances are about-"

"Chance of occurrence: 1.75%." Heads turned again. This time the speaker was a slender blue robot with what looked like a cassette-player for a chest and a glassy red visor which covered the top half his face. His head tilted in silent acknowledgement at the attention, "Current chance of escape: 2.3%."

The robots all shifted in a sudden disquiet harmony, glancing warily at each other. One of the red robots- the ornery one who sounded vaguely country- was the first to say what they were all thinking.

"I really ain't likin' those odds, Optimus."

A weary sigh echoed tensely in the quiet, "Nor I, old friend."

The silence lasted for a long, strained moment which was only broken by the sound of Megatron's frustrated growl.

"Soundwave?" It was only a single world but the response was immediate.

"Chance of escape without Autobot assistance: less than 10%. Current most useful assets: Autobot Wheeljack, Autobot Ratchet, Optimus Prime. Suggested course of action: temporary armistice."

Megatron gave an irritated huff, maroon eyes swinging between each mechanoid with an ugly, disparaging snarl. Before he had the chance to speak, however, another voice interrupted him.

"Aw, do we have to?" Maddie shifted her line of sight and raised an eyebrow. Another robot- jarringly identical to Starscream save for the minor differences in colour-scheme- was pouting petulantly, sharp-tipped wings drooping behind him. "I mean," the bot grinned with malignant mischief, "We can't just hurt them even a little bit?"

Maddie watched, somewhat surprised when Soundwave's head immediately whipped around to stare at the other bot with a cold, irritated look. "Skywarp: use of destructive force unadvised. Suggested course of action: co-operation."

Skywarp only sighed and rolled his eyes, not bothering to give a response. Instead, Starscream stepped forward with a baleful scoff. "Working with the Autobots?" He grit out incredulously, "Are you insane? We could destroy them right now and end this blasted war but instead you want to _work_ with them?!"

Soundwave inclined his head as if in acknowledgement but otherwise didn't move. His attention was now solely fixed on Megatron. The mechanoid in question suddenly looked murderously contemplative, his engine purring a low, dark note.

"Silence, you fool," Megatron sneered absent-mindedly. "I am thinking." 

Starscream quietened accordingly but looked anything but happy about it. Maddie might have imagined it, but she swore she head him mutter something that sounded suspiciously like: _"Well, don't think too hard."_ It was only after what seemed like an endless moment of quiet contemplation that Megatron finally looked up. 

"Prime." He growled, taking no notice of the indignant protests that came from Starscream. Optimus gave an imperceptive nod of the head, gazing steadily back with hard, blue eyes.

"Megatron."

Neither of the robots seemed willing to move at first, gazes fixed on each other in some kind of intense stare-down. Then, very slowly, the first began to advance, sharp eyes tracing the stiffened forms of the wary crowd as he strode to the centre of the clearing and stood there, strong and proud.

"Consider this... a temporary peace offering. No tricks." Without knowing why, Maddie was pleasantly surprised when he simply pursed his lips into a hateful scowl. Looking positively homicidal, Megatron extended a long, clawed hand in grudging capitulation.

The 'Prime' robot studied the hand that had been outstretched towards him and then shifted his gaze to his adversary's face. For a long silent second, burning scarlet stared into wary royal blue; the two colours clashed in a staring contest that seemed to portray everything that they wanted the other to know in only a single look. Then, cautious but accepting, Prime took the other's hand and shook it.

"As you wish, Megatron."

The unwilling audience let out the breath that they had been holding in unanimous relief as the tension finally snapped. Even from here, Maddie could see how the arms of the two leaders bulged beneath their own grips and winced when she saw the way that Megatron's claws dug beneath Optimus' metal wires. It must have been a painful, but neither of the two flinched, maintaining steady eye-contact even as they let go of one another.

It was then, that Maddie- who had been too distracted by _giant robots_ to notice- finally came to the terrible terrifying realisation of what had just happened.

The screams and explosions from before, the weapons, the dents and wounds, the opposing symbols on their chests, the way they glared at each other. It was all starting to come together now- the one stupid, _oh-so-obvious_ thing that she had missed from the very start. Maddie felt a horrified hand come up to cover her mouth in growing understanding as she stared from one battered side to the other.

 _We could destroy them_ right now _and end this blasted war._

The words that Starscream had spit out so violently only minutes before, ricocheted in her brain like bullets.

 _Destroy them._ _War._

She wanted to be sick.

"...heeljack, do you think that you and Shockwave would to be able to..."

Everything was starting to make sense. Before, she had been confused and petrified by the constant underlying hostility in the air, befuddled by the sense of danger she got from just looking at the robots. Now though, it was all starting to come together.

"...I'm not sure, Optimus. I've never heard of something like this ever happening before..."

They were at war. They were giant alien robots with huge weapons, that could kill her with a flick of their wrists and they were at _war_. Her life was quite literally in the palm of their hands, and if they were soldiers then- well, she didn't really want to think about it all that much. Because that meant that she had very suddenly found herself sandwiched in between to warring sides of a war that she _definitely_ didn't want anything to do with, and if that wasn't the scariest idea that she'd ever been faced with, she didn't know what was.

Oh god, she'd just made a huge mistake, hadn't she? Why couldn't she have just run when she had the chance?!

Almost faintly, she could hear Wheeljack chattering above her but found that she couldn't concentrate on the words. She had long since collapsed, legs folded beneath her with her arms clutching to those warm, giant fingers for grounding. The agonising buzzing of her cranium was going to drive her insane, hysterical gasps nearly tearing themselves out of her throat.

Then something Wheeljack had started to say caught her attention, and she felt that she couldn't even bring herself to cry anymore; the air had been knocked from her lungs.

"...besides," Wheeljack sounded almost proud, his fins flashing brightly, "I found something you might find interesting." At those words, Maddie felt her blood turn to ice. She nearly groaned when she felt the oh-so-familiar feeling of inexplicable dread settle in her stomach. _Please,_ she thought with growing panic, _please, please, please don't tell me he's going to-_

In one smooth movement, the inventor tilted his arm so that Maddie- tiny and hunched- tumbled out from between his fingers with a squeak. Then Wheeljack held up his hand for all to see, pointed at the terrified human sprawled out across his palm and exclaimed all-too complacently: "See?"

For a long, _long_ moment, there was a tense, dumbstruck silence. Then:

"What, in the ever-loving _frag,_ is that?"

"An organic?"

"Wheeljack, put it down, for Primus' sake!"

"Ugh, it's utterly repulsive-"

"Everyone, just calm down-"

She didn't know what made her do it. Maybe it was the steady pressure building in her stomach, or the burning feeling behind her eyes. Maybe it was the adrenaline pumping through her veins or the nauseating fear fluttering in her heart. She didn't really have enough time to reconsider before her mouth was already moving.

_"Hey!"_

The silence that followed her fearful, unsteady shout was so sudden that it was nearly deafening. Maddie watched with immediate regret as, in complete synchronicity, every single robot in the vicinity stopped what they were doing in mid-motion and turned to stare at her, surprise written across their faces.

Maddie, suddenly dizzy from all the attention, flinched back. Head spinning with mental whiplash, she found that her mouth was opening again, words tumbling out from between her lips before she could stop them.

"U-U-Um, please," she pleaded into the silence, "C-could you put- could you put me down now?"

The utter shock and confusion that flashed across the throng of metal faces probably would have been amusing had the situation been any less terrifying. Wide electric-blue and sanguine-red blinked down at her from every direction and Maddie, at a complete loss for words, blinked dumbly back.

"Well, then." She glanced up. Wheeljack didn't seem at all surprised by her outburst. His pink fins flickered neon as he glanced from her to the other robots and back again , bright eye-lights glowing with wry amusement.

He smiled a bright, impervious smile, "That definitely wasn't what I expected."


End file.
